Greetings New First-Year Students of Fall 2026!
 
Welcome to the UCI School of Humanities! As a new student, you are required to complete academic advising before enrolling in courses. All academic advising will be conducted in person throughout July and August. Below you will find helpful information and resources to help prepare you for academic advising, take necessary placement exams, and start a successful college career at UCI. We look forward to working with you this summer!

Summer Academic Advising

Student Parent Orientation Program (SPOP) is UCI’s summer orientation for incoming undergraduate students and will be hosted in person this summer. Through this program, you will receive information on academic life, campus resources, what to expect in the Fall Quarter and more. Learn more about the first-year orientation programs on the Orientation website.

After you accept your admission offer to UCI, you will receive an email from orientation@uci.edu, which will be sent to your UCI email account, with instructions on how to make a reservation for an orientation program and information about your reservation window. The orientation program you choose to make a reservation for will determine the date you receive academic advising and enroll in classes for the Fall Quarter.

In mid-June, the School of Humanities First-Year Advising 26-27 course will be added to your Canvas account. In this Canvas space, you will receive important information on the academic advising and registration process. Visit the UCI Learn Anywhere website for information on how to access your Canvas account.

Note for international students: International students will complete an online academic advising process different from SPOP. You will receive an email with more information on this process in early July.

Placement Testing

You may need to take a placement test. See the information below to help determine which exams to take before your advising session. You will be able to sign up for placement testing on the Testing Center website.

  • Writing: All students must receive a writing placement before enrolling in courses for the Fall Quarter. Writing placement considers scores such as AP, IB, SAT, ACT, and SBAC. If you do not have qualifying scores from any of these exams, you will be required to complete the Writing Placement Portfolio or the Academic English Placement Exam, whichever is appropriate. Visit the Writing Placement webpage for more information. Instructions on how to complete the writing placement process will be emailed to you.
  • Language other than English: If you plan to enroll in any of the following language courses for the Fall Quarter, you must take a placement test this summer: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Spanish or Vietnamese. The placement exams for French and German are optional but recommended. Visit the Language Placement and Exemptions webpage for more information.
  • Math and Science: Math and Physics classes are not specific requirements for Humanities majors but can be taken to meet portions of the General Education requirement. You only need to take those exams if you are interested in taking calculus or physics. 

Not sure which test to take? If necessary, most Humanities majors take a language placement exam.

Community College or 4-Year College Courses
 
If you have taken any courses at a community college or a 4-year college, then you must send official transcripts to the UCI Office of Undergraduate Admissions. If a community college course is UC accredited, it is possible that your coursework may be accepted for a general education course or a lower-division major requirement. Courses from another 4-year college or out-of-state community college may earn you units, but course equivalency is NOT automatic. A syllabus review may be required to determine credit.

Note that courses from a community college or a 4-year college will NOT waive you out of Humanities Core, which is a required course sequence in the School of Humanities. All eligible first year students will need to enroll in Humanities Core, and eligibility will be determined at your SPOP session.

If you are interested in taking courses at your local community college, be sure to utilize the Assist website for articulation agreements. Feel free to contact one of our academic counselors, Alice Nguyen, at alicetn1@uci.edu to review your proposed courses.

UCI General Catalogue

The 2026-2027 UCI General Catalogue will be available online in mid-July. It contains valuable information about the campus, your academic field of interest, and UCI's policies and regulations. You are responsible for knowing and adhering to the policies contained in this Catalogue.

New Student Resources

Important Dates

  • July 1, 2026 – Deadline to submit official final transcripts, including high school and college transcripts, to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. 
  • July 15, 2026 – Deadline to submit official test scores to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
  • September 15, 2026 – Deadline to pay Fall Quarter fees. Fees must be paid to the Cashier's Office by September 15 to retain your seats in classes (postmarks do not apply). Review your ZOT Account online in late August.
  • September 24, 2026 – The first day of classes. Note this is a Thursday.